I have been using OMERO.editor for a while and I have a few questions concerning the tree view/text view.

When I set default values for a parameter they do not appear neither in the tree view nor in the text view but only on the parameters panel (on the right). It would be very useful to see the default values automatically, so that if one has to use a protocol he can just print it or modify only the parameters he needs to change. It is possible to make default values visible for all the parameter types available?

I also noticed that the units of measure are only displayed in the tree view if you use a table of parameters or the number parameter, it is coorect? It would be useful to display units of measure for all the parameters.

Finally, the parameter name is currently not visible in the tree view (except for tables) which makes difficult to distinguish among parameters in case of multiplle parameters per chapter (multiple white fields one next to the other without text). It is possible to display the parameter name/description in the tree view?

Do you want to see the default value as well as the existing value of a parameter? Or just display defaults for ones that don't have a value set? I used to have an option to auto-populate every field with it's default value (if parameter is empty AND there is a default value for that parameter). Would this be suitable for your needs? It would be easier to implement this than to try and display default values somehow.

Currently the Editor only supports units for number parameters. Can you give examples of other parameter types that need units? E.g. do you need units for a text field?

We currently show a 'tool-tip' when you mouse over the Step, and this shows the names of all the parameters in that step. Would it be more helpful if it showed the name of the each field individually? Would this be enough or would you like the names shown on-screen beside (or above) each field?If so, would you want the names to be displayed all the time, or shown/hidden in the same way as the "info"?

Adding units to drop-down menus: I wonder if you could add the units to each option (do you have a large number?). E.g. options = "10 mg, 20 mg, 50 mg".If this solves your issue it would be nice, although I'll see how much work it is to do it properly.

One question: I've implemented the "load defaults" behaviour to only load defaults for parameters that have a default value AND the parameter value itself is empty. This is to ensure you don't accidentally overwrite your data when loading defaults. If you want to overwrite, you can "clear experimental values" first.Does this behaviour sound OK?

The only potential probem is that you may have some parameters which have experimental values but no defaults and others with experimental values AND defaults and you want to overwrite with defaults. You'd have to clear values from the whole experiment to 'overwrite', and this would also clear the experimental values from the paramters with no defaults.

The other option is to ALWAYS load defaults if they exist, even overwriting existing values. OR allow the user to choose, which means asking every time, or giving the user 2 toolbar buttons - one for each behavior. Does that make sense?